The present invention relates to a female connector for a guide wire assembly, said guide wire assembly comprising a guide wire having a male connector and an interface cable, and more particularly to a female connector preventing any rotation of the guide wire assembly in relation to said interface cable.
In intravascular imaging one uses guide wire assemblies comprising a guide wire with a sensor mounted at its distal tip, and an interface cable, connecting to external equipment such as monitors, control units, computers etc. The guide wire is introduced into the vascular tree, and by rotating said guide wire while passing it forward into the vessel it can be properly located at a desired vessel site. Conductors extending along the guide wire transmit signals from the sensor, and are connected by a suitable connector to means for processing the electrical signals via an interface cable.
The guide wire assembly must allow for rotational motion of the guide wire, since otherwise the physician performing the insertion of the guide wire would have to control connector and guide wire separately.
In accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,159 this is accomplished with a connector assembly permitting rotation of the male connector with respect to the female connector. However, a considerable disadvantage of this embodiment is that the transmission of signals through the connector is distorted when the guide wire is rotated. Furthermore the structure of tho device according to this patent is fairly complex, in that it comprises many moving parts on a miniature scale.
The object of the invention is thus to eliminate the problem of the prior art connector. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a female connector having means for securing a guide wire, having a mating male connector, within said female connector, such that the entire connector has the capability to rotate with the wire, without the physician considering this troublesome.
Preferably the female connector is adapted to receive a male connector having essentially uniform diameter along the whole length thereof. Suitably the proximal end of said female connector is connected to an interface cable, connecting to an external control unit.